from detnews today .. damn don't wanna lose him, guess his family is still out in Cali?

Stuart lights lamp for family
After stating publicly this week that considerations of living closer to home will figure prominently in his decision to re-sign with the Red Wings for next season and beyond, Brad Stuart scored his first goal of the season Saturday.

I thought his family moved to Detroit last year or so? Hm...that sounds like he plans on leaving then, whichw ill suck. He's been a great fit and you'd think he would want to stop being a journeyman. Will suck if we have to replace Lidstrom and Stuart.

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Well, I would hope that if he does want to move closer to home next year he does one of two things, A. Tells the Wings early enough of his decision so they can trade him to LA at the deadline for Penner or 2. HE lets them know he wants to finish the year out with the Wings and THEN go home, so after the season he re-signs a sign and trade contract with the Wings that the Kings like and gets's traded to the Kings for Penner (who also does a sign/trade.) Of course there is always option C. I'd like to see him re-sign here and when/if Lidstrom retires and Holland gets Suter (or Weber via deadline trade(yes I am thinking positive)) he will still be part of the NHL's best defensive corps and help bring one or two more Cups here.... (positive thinking feels good this morning!)

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I'd keep him if the price was right. However if family being in Cali. Definitely seeing the Kings or Ducks maybe throwing some more cash his way. Oh well, thing with Stewy is that too many times these last few seasons it seems he takes night's off. :/ Having said that he's looked pretty good these last few games especially last night. So I might have to bite my tongue. I think he's replaceable though in the end and either way no worries it will all pan itself out...

Would love to see him stay, he knows the team, has good chemistry. The tiniest part of me is also saying, meh. He hasn't been great this year (which I know hardly any of the team had been during that streak), and at times seems a bit less physical - especially since he broke his jaw. I mean this is a guy who used to fight every so often, but now seems to avoid it at all costs.

That being said, think when Lids eventually goes, we will need him to pair with Kronner and continue that solid partnership.

The Best Of BCHankthaTank- Squirrels, they hate to be thrown. / Why is the magical unicorn named Brian... Jedi - I just downloaded the "kids" book, "Go the F--k to Sleep" as narrated by Samuel L. Jackson on my kindle. I am now ready to be a daddy. / *Checks Router* No, I'm positive I didn't hit the "Wings Defense Sucks" button. Electrophile - I'm just glad the Wings were able to win despite the Curse of Brian. ACallToArms - I think Trey needs to put something about payroll tax and deferred income in his sig... Edicius- I'd rather [have] a soundbite of me saying "I like (man sausage)" rather than "I like Crosby".

For the price we pay for Stuart, he brings a lot of value back, but I wouldn't be sad if didn't re-sign him because I think we could easily get an upgrade over him.

I don't know about 'easy'. There's not a lot of good defensemen on the market. Defensively, he's been our 2nd best defenseman since he got here, and steps up his effort in the playoffs. I think some of us are too spoiled by Nick to appreciate his defense, and he'll always be vilified for game 7. That said, his lack of offensive acumen limits his value in our system.

Ideally, Nick will come back and Kindl, Ericsson, or Smith will step up to take a top 4 spot, and we won't need Stu or any of the good FAs so anyone we do land will be like a bonus (or we can focus on fowards).

If Nick retires I think we'll need a top FA, plus the kids stepping up, and either Stuie or another good FA.

Trade Stuart, a couple picks (e.g. 1st + 2nd), and a prospect for Dustin Brown and Alec Martinez at the deadline?

Would be good IMO, yes we would lost out on defence but Brown is a great upgrade offensively and finally provides a winger that Datsyuk can rely on to bury the chances he gets. Martinez isn't bad and maybe they want something more for him, but I do think we need to at least grab some sort of Dman in the deal.

This trade is good for both teams IMO, gives LA a good dman to rely on (and maybe he'll perform better there - close to family etc), a couple good picks, and a prospect (e.g. Tatar) that could turn out to be great.

Outside of a few stretches while playing with Lidstrom, Stuart has been extremely average imo. I think this is an excellent opportunity and perfect time to unload him and not look for anything in return except the cap room. The Red Wings have a good group of young defensemen and a top 3 that are probably one of the best top 3's in the league. I really like the look of: Lidstrom/White, Kronwall/Commodore, Kindl/Ericsson, Smith next year. And if they dump Holmstrom, Hudler, Bertuzzi, and Stuart, then they gain about 9 million of cap room. I guarantee they can pull in a good defenseman like Matt Carle for 5-6 million a sesason if they want to. Brad Stuart has been consistent. That's the best attribute he's brought to this team. But it's time for him to move back home.

Sweet. This dude was brought here for one reason, to punch people in the head - every other thing that he can do, other Wings can do better. I like that we have a head-puncher. The league has other, better head-punchers, but this one is ours. Better than nothing. Good work, Kenny!

I don't know about 'easy'. There's not a lot of good defensemen on the market. Defensively, he's been our 2nd best defenseman since he got here, and steps up his effort in the playoffs. I think some of us are too spoiled by Nick to appreciate his defense, and he'll always be vilified for game 7. That said, his lack of offensive acumen limits his value in our system.

Ideally, Nick will come back and Kindl, Ericsson, or Smith will step up to take a top 4 spot, and we won't need Stu or any of the good FAs so anyone we do land will be like a bonus (or we can focus on fowards).

If Nick retires I think we'll need a top FA, plus the kids stepping up, and either Stuie or another good FA.

We also have Commodore who can provide cover, providing he signs another year (as far as I know it's only 1 yr?).

Trade Stuart, a couple picks (e.g. 1st + 2nd), and a prospect for Dustin Brown and Alec Martinez at the deadline?

Would be good IMO, yes we would lost out on defence but Brown is a great upgrade offensively and finally provides a winger that Datsyuk can rely on to bury the chances he gets. Martinez isn't bad and maybe they want something more for him, but I do think we need to at least grab some sort of Dman in the deal.

This trade is good for both teams IMO, gives LA a good dman to rely on (and maybe he'll perform better there - close to family etc), a couple good picks, and a prospect (e.g. Tatar) that could turn out to be great.

Gives us an elite scoring winger and a good dman.

Thoughts?

My thought is that the Kings are very unlikely to be in a playoff bind come the deadline; that they're very unlikely to trade away their captain; and that they don't need another defensive D-man.

Well honestly I cat blame him for wanting to go back closer to his family, it must be tough.

His play seems affected by it as well, he has seemed to be declining a bit in my eyes the last year or so.

Hello Tim Gleason, pending UFA after thisoffseason.

4 years younger, FROM MICHIGAN which could figure to be huge, capable of the exact same offensive output, a tough fighter and a very rugged physical guy much like Stuart is and plays witha legit mean streak.

Really if Stuart walks, I see Gleason as an upgrade by a decent margin and I think he is a more solid defensive defenseman. Stuart is a solid guy, and if he sticks around thats great but Gleason is basically a better version and that would be a great chance to improve the team

I wouldn't be upset if Stuart left after this year. I can understand that he wants to be closer to his family, and family ultimately overrides hockey. He's looked sluggish this year. He's been a big part of our defense since he was acquired in '07/'08, but I think there are better options out there. If Lidstrom retires after the season, and Stuart leaves to be closer to his family, and Commodore is let go for another #7 defenseman, the defense will look a lot different. Too early to accurately predict anythingobviously, but I'll throw this out there:

X-Kronwall
X-White
Ericsson-Kindl
X/Smith

Possible replacements for Lidstrom:

Ryan Suter
Shea Weber (Long-shot, but still)

Possible replacements for Stuart:

Tim Gleason
Sheldon Souray
Adrian Aucoin
Willie Mitchell
Cory Sarich

Possible replacements for Commodore:

Jim Vandermeer
Bryan Allen
Sheldon Brookbank
Shane O'Brien

Suter-Kronwall
Gleason-White
Ericsson-Kindl
O'Brien

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